The Swell Show

Edition 13 · Tuesday, October 27, 2026

The week holds steady through Saturday.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, half of the rentals have guests, about 1,800 people. Over the last week, about 90 more rentals were booked for that day. That level holds all the way to Saturday.

Morning, line-up.

Tide alerts

  • Heads up

    Fuel may go up in November. A hike of up to ₡89 per liter of regular gasoline and ₡23 on diesel is under review and could take effect in early November. If you rely on transfers or suppliers that charge freight, stock up before. Source

Today’s story

How the week looks

Today, Monday the 26th: half of the rentals have guests, about 1,800 people, and almost 3 in 10 hotels have no room tonight. 1.5 m waves and a nearly dry day.

Tomorrow, Tuesday the 27th: half the area has guests, like every day through Saturday. Sunday the 1st and Monday the 2nd drop to 4 in 10: about 150 fewer rentals with guests.

It's still early to write Sunday off. Last Sunday, a week out, also looked like the emptiest day, and about 130 more rentals were booked in the final days. For your business: Tuesday to Saturday, normal-week supplies and staff; on Sunday, don't cut back yet.

What to do today

Lodging
Don't lower your rate for Sunday the 1st and Monday the 2nd yet. Last Sunday filled up in the final week, at the last minute.
Restaurants
From Tuesday to Saturday, work with your full team. For Sunday, order as usual and leave room to restock: people keep booking until the day before.
Shops and services
The weekend brings waves close to 1.5 m with a good period. Have boards, lessons and tours on display from Friday.

The numbers

28%of hotels are full for Tuesday. A week ago, for the same Tuesday, it was 8%: about 30 more hotels with no room in seven days.
100places, roughly, are free on Tuesday but already have guests later in the week. Yesterday, for Monday, it was about 90: people keep arriving midweek.
49–51%booked every day from Tuesday to Saturday. Sunday the 1st drops to 42% and Monday the 2nd to 41%.

By price

Rentals over US$350 are the fullest

For Tuesday, 6 in 10 rentals over US$350 already have guests; among those up to US$60, 3 in 10. Same as yesterday.

Budgetup to US$60
31%
Mid-rangeUS$61 to 150
50%
UpscaleUS$151 to 350
53%
Luxuryover US$350
63%

Share of places booked for tomorrow at each nightly rate. Every place in the area, classified one by one.

What the tide brings in

  1. Around the world

    More first-class seats to Liberia

    JetBlue is launching its first-class cabin on three Costa Rica routes: Fort Lauderdale–Liberia from December 26, and New York–Liberia and Fort Lauderdale–San José from January 5. Liberia is the most-used gateway to the peninsula.

    Source: The Tico Times

See you in the water.

How we measure · Occupancy = 1 − places free for 3 nights ÷ total inventory. It’s a ceiling: some places block dates without being booked. Sources: the main booking platforms, Open-Meteo and the Central Bank of Costa Rica. Measured October 26 at 6:00.